Gender And Achievement- Quick Check Questions Flashcards
Give three trends on gender and achievement
Key stage 1-3 = girls do better
AS + A levels girls are more likely to sit, pass and het higher grades
On vocational subjects a larger proportion of girls receive a distinction in every subject
What did Mac Robbie study about feminism
Study of girls magazines. In the 1970s they emphasised the importance of getting married and not being ‘ left on the shelf ‘, whereas nowadays they contain images of assertive independent women
How have changes in the family improves girls achievement
This changes girls attitudes towards education as they see positive role models in the family who make them aware that they can do anything job wise
What did Sharpes study on ambitions show
It shows that there has been a major shift in the way girls see their future and she shows this through interviews with girls in the 1970s and the 1990s
How is class, gender and ambition linked
There are class differences in how far girls ambitions have changed. Some working class girls continue to have gender stereotyped aspirations for marriage ana children and expect to go into traditional low paid women’s work
What are the examples of equal opportunities polices are there
GIST
WISE
How do positive role models affect achievement
Women in senior positions may act as role models for girls, showing them women can achieve positions of importance and giving them non traditional goals to aim for
How does GCSEs and coursework benefit girls
Mitsos and Browne support the view that GCSES and coursework benefit girls. They conclude that girls are more successful at coursework as they are more conscientious and better organised than boys for example girls spend more time on their work
What did Francis find about teachers attention
Found that while boys got more attention, they were disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers,who tended to have lower expectation of them
How has challenging stereotypes in the curriculum helped
Some sociologists argue that the removal of gender stereotypes from textbooks, reading schemes and other learning materials in the recent years has removed a barriers to girls achievement. For examples research found that reading schemes portrayed girls as mainly housewives
How are league tables linked from girls achievement
Jackson notes that the introduction of Evan league tables has improved opportunities for girls : high achieveing girls are attractive to schools whereas low achieving bits are not. This tends to create a self fulfilling prophecy- because girls are more likely to be recruited by good schools, they are more likely to do well
What are the two feminists views on achievement
Liberal feminists- celebrate the progress made so far in the improving achievement. Also believe in further progress
Radical feminists - take a critical view. While they recognise that girls are achieving more they emphasises that the system still remains patriarchal
What is a hyper heterosexual feminine identity
Girls who spend a lot of time and effort on making desirable and glamorous identities
How does hyper heterosexual girls contrast with successful working class girls
Evans found that these girls wanted to go uni and increase their earning power but not for themselves but to help their families
Why are boys literacy skills poor
One reason may be that patents spend less time reading to their sons
Another maybe that leisure pursuits such as football do little to help develop their language and communication skills
How is globalisation linked to boys achievement
Due to the decline in traditional men’s jobs m, Mitsos and Browne claim that the decline in male employment opportunities has led to an identity crisis for men . Many boys believe that that gave little prospect of getting a proper job. This undermines their motivation and self esteem and so they give up tying to get qualification
What does the feminisation of education mean
Sewell is reported as claiming that boys fall behind because education has become more feminised. That is schools do not nurture ‘ masculine ‘ traits such as competitiveness and leadership. Instead that they celebrate qualities more closely associated with girls, such as methodical working abs attentiveness in class
Does a shortage of male primary school teachers matter
Yes as the lack of male role models both at home and at school is said to be a cause of boys underachievement. For example large number of boys are being brought up in the 1.5 million female headed lone parent families in the uk
What is meant by laddish subculture
Boys created a group in order to not be labelled as sissies
Why is there a moral panic of boys
This moral panic reflects a fear that underachieving working class boys will grow up to be become a dangerous unemployable underclass that threatens socials stability
Explain what is meant by gender domains
Tasks and activities that boys and girls see as their territory
Give three reasons why boys and girls pick different subjects
Gender domains
Coursework
Role models
What is meant by double standards
Applying one moral of standards to one group and not the other
What is meant the term male gaze
The way male pupils abs teachers look at girls
What is the differences between male and female peer group and identities
Male - use of verbal abuse to reinforce their definitions of masculinity
Female - WC girls gain symbolic capital ( status and popularity ) by performing hyper heterosexual feminine identity
How are class, gender and ambition linked
Some WC women continue to have gender stereotyped aspirations for marriage and children and expect to go into traditional low paid women’s work
Name equal opportunities policies that are in school
INTERNAL FACTORS:
WISE: women into science and engineering
GIST: (girls into science and technology)
Encourage girls to pursue careers in the non traditional areas
name some gaps about the gender gap in achievement
- girld rate of improvement has been more rapid
- english has the largest gap between the two genders
- girls are more likely to sit and pass A- levels
At gcse level what is the gender gap in achivement
10 percentage points
how has feminism help girls in achievement
EXTERNAL FACTOR
feminism has raised womens expectations and self esteem. Womens rights improved through changes in the law. The feminist movement has had considerable sucess in improving womens rights.
How does family link to gender and achievement
EXTERNAL FACTORS
since the 1970s there has been a major chnage in families:
-increase in divorce-leads to more women taking on the breadwinner role, creating a new role for women and making them finacially independent women-encourages girls to earn qualifications
-increase in lone parenthood families
how does employment link to gender and education
EXTERNAL FACTORS
-1970 equal pay acts makes it illegal to pay women less than men of equal value
these changes have encouraged girls to see thier future in terms of paid work rather than housewives and as successful career women. encourages them to gain qualifications.
List external factors of gender differences
- the impact of feminism
- changes in the family
- changes in women’s employment
- girls changing ambition
List internal factors of gender differences
- equal opportunities policies
- positive role models
- GCSE and coursework
- teachers attention
- challenging stereotypes
- selection and league tables
INTERNAL FACTORS
How does positive role models impact gender differences
There have been an increase in the proportion in female teachers and head teachers. These women in senior roles act as role models for girls showing them women can achieve positions of importance
How does equal opportunities policies impact gender differences
WISE - women into science and engineering
GIST- girls into science and technology
These policies encourage girls to pursue careers in the non traditional areas
How does GCSE and coursework impact gender differences
Gorard concludes that the gender gap in achievement is a product of the changed system of assessment rather than anymore failing of boys
He also says to take away course work to close the gap
How does teachers attention impact gender differences
Francis even though boys get more attention they are disciplined more harshly
How does changing stereotypes impact gender differences
Wiener argues that since the 1980s, teachers have challenged such stereotypes
What are liberal feminists view on gender and education
Celebrate the progress made so far in improving achievement. They believe that further progress will be made by the continuing development of equal opportunity policies , encouraging positive role models and overcoming sexist attitudes and stereotypes
What are radical feminists views on gender and achievement
Take a more critical view. They recognise that girls are achieving more , they emphasise that the system remains patriarchal and coveys the message it’s still a mans world
Definition a league table
When GCSE results are published and schools are ordered in which is highest/lowest
How do working class girls link to identity , class and girls achievement
Archer - symbolic capital ( status and recognition that we obtain from others )
- performing WC feminine Identities, girls gain symbolic capital from their peers
- however this bought into conflict with the school, preventing them from acquiring educational capital
What does hyper heterosexual feminine identities result in
- loud identities lead to conflict with teachers
- interest in boys prevented them from going uni
What was the study about successful WC girls
Evans - 21 WC girls sixth form girls in south London
- wanted to go uni to increase earning power
- however not for themselves but to help family
- wanted to go to uni but fear of debt
Evans demonstrated that even for successful WC girls , “ caring “ aspect produces a desire to stay at home , this results in self exclusion and limits success
List the reasons why boys underachieve
- literacy
- globalisation
- feminisation
- shortage of male teachers
- laddish subcultures
How does literacy affect boys achievement
Mothers who do most of the reading to young children , come to see reading as a feminine identity
Also football do little to help lag age and communication
How does feminisation affect boys and achievement
Sewell claims that boys fall behind because education has become ‘feminised ‘. He sees coursework as a major cause of gender differences in achievement
How does the shortage of male teachers affect boys and achievement
The lack of male role models at home and at school is said to be a cause of boys underachievement. For example large numbers of boys are being brought up in 1.5 million female beaded homes in the uk. Only 14% of primary school teachers are male
How does laddish subcultures impact boys and achievement
Epstein found that boys are more likely to be harassed, labelled as sissies , homophobic abuse of appear to be be ‘ swots ‘. Laddish culture is becoming widespread because girls more into traditional masculine areas
How does the male gaze impact pupil sexual and gender identities
Mac and Ghail - the way male pupils and teachers look girls up and down , seeing them as sexual objects and making judgments about their appearance
How do male peer groups link to gender identities
They use verbal abuse to reinforce masculinity
How do female peer groups link pupil sexual and gender identities
Archer shows how WC girls gain symbolic capital ( status and popularity ) from their female peers by performing a hyper heterosexual identity
How do gender domains impact gender and subject choice
Means the activities that boys and girls see as their territory
Kelly (internal )
kelly argues that science is seen as a boys subject for several reasons:
- science teachers most likely men
- boys dominate the laboratory as it is theirs
- examples: teachers use in books often draws on boys interest rather than girls
Gorard (internal )
Gorard concludes that the gender gap in achievement is a product of the changed system rather than the general failings of boys. Due to the introduction of coursework, girls were better as they spent more time at home
Weiner (internal )
argues that since the 1980s, teachers have challenged such as stereotypes. Also sexist images have been removed from learning materials. This may have helped raise girls achievement by showing them positive images of what women can do.
francis ( internal )
found that while boys got more attention, they were more disciplined more harshly and felt picked on by teachers who had lower expectations of them.
paetcher (external )
found that because pupils see sport as mainly within the male gender domain, girls who are sporty have to cope with the image that contradicts the conventional female stereotypes
Mcrobbie (external )
did research into the magazine industry and drew a comparison between 2 magazines ‘jackie ‘ from the 1970s emphasised the importance of getting married and not being left on the shelf. But not independent women
sharpe (external )
conducted interviews with girls in the 1970s and 1990s, showing a major shift in the way girls see their future
1970s= low aspirations, believed educational success was unfeminine. priorities were marriage and husband
1990s= careers and being able to support themselves. more likely to future as an independent women
